There are times when I am ashamed of my fellow countrymen, and a report out this week has highlighted well-off pensioners who are raking in the money at the expense of their counterparts who are dying of cold every winter in the UK.

I refer to those pensioners who have enough money to spend the cold winter months in sunny Spain and the South of France, and still insist on claiming their UK heating allowance.

I am sure most, if not all, know that many old folks back home often have to choose between eating and staying warm, and every winter there are those poor souls who die from either the lack of proper nutrition or the cold. Sadly, these greedy individuals are not moved one iota by this fact, and continue to claim their allowance “because they are entitled to it”.

Winter On The Costa – Not An Overcoat To Be Seen

Many thousands spend most of the winter here on the Costa del Sol where the daytime temperature rarely drops below 14 degrees, unlike the UK, for there much of the winter it is almost always below five degrees and very often in the minus, especially at night. It is a sad fact that many UK old folks die alone in their homes in winter because they have not been able to keep warm.

The government did what it could to help by providing the Heating Allowance for pensioners, but unfortunately they did not add proper limits so that only the poor and needy were entitled. According to the government webpage on heating allowance you are entitled if:

you were born on or before 5 January 1952 (for winter 2013 to 2014 – this date changes every year)

you normally live in the UK throughout the week of 16 to 22 September 2013

You may still be able to get the payment if you live in another European Economic Area (EEA) country or Switzerland and you have a genuine link with the UK.

You usually get a Winter Fuel Payment automatically if you get the State Pension or another social security benefit (not Housing Benefit, Council Tax Reduction or Child Benefit).

The Benefit Of Heating Allowance

I could claim this allowance because I live in a European country, am over sixty-five and have a genuine link to the UK, but I don’t because my conscience would not allow me too. Why is there a clause in the rules that allows people not living in the UK to receive such an allowance? This rule should be scrapped.

In my opinion, anyone spending the winter outside the UK, and certainly with an apartment or villa in Spain or the South of France, has no need of such payments. But unfortunately, people these days are greedy and think only of themselves and don’t give a hoot for anyone else.

Most people see it as a free handout from the government that they gladly accept and do not care that the really needy old folk die from cold. Perhaps these parasites should be given a guided tour of these poor people and see first hand their living conditions and feel for themselves the cold days and nights.

Cold, Hungry And Alone

It is also a sad fact these days that many people do not think about taking proper care of the parents who gave them life, and leave them to die alone in the old family home. Some pensioners are lucky if their children visit briefly even once a year, others may get a visit once a month, but in most cases it is more important to have the family holiday in Mallorca than to ensure the parents have a warm home to live in throughout the winter.

Winter Home On The Costa

According to the report, a total of £21 million was handed out to pensioners who spend the winter in the warmer climes of Europe. Of this amount, £9 million went to pensioners basking in the sun in Spain, and another £5.1 million went to those living in France. Pensioners seeing through the winter as far away as Greece received in total £351,000 in heating payments.

According to the official figures, 119,587 pensioners living in the European Economic Area received payments in 2012-2013, a rise of 60 per cent on 2011-2012. These figures do not include those pensioners spending the winter in the UK. A drastic rise when you consider that in 2002 to 2003 only 8,090 people were paid this benefit. This coming winter may well see many more deaths among the old when you consider the major rises in energy prices passed on by the electricity and gas companies to the consumer.

If Attitudes Don’t Change This Could Be You!

It is a terrible thing to sit in your own home and be unable to keep yourself warm in winter, and even more so to freeze to death. We are supposed to be a civilized people so how can we allow this to happen. Those who can afford to go abroad for the winter should have all payments stopped immediately. The millions that are saved would be enough to give all pensioners in the UK a warm house in which to see through winter without starving themselves to get it. That should be sufficient incentive for any government to change the rules.

It is indeed sad to read accounts of the callous attitude of many towards the old folks these days. They obviously do not think that one day they too will grow old, and may also suffer the same humiliation and despair that faces many of our senior citizens today. You may well ask what brought this on, and I will tell you.

Old and Cold! - Should This Be?

I was somewhat dismayed to read in the english news of the past week, that an estimated 180 pensioners died of cold in their own homes every day during last winter. They died because they could not afford to heat their homes sufficiently to stay alive.

Britain had a harsh winter last year and it will by no means be that last, for with global warming upsetting weather patterns around the world, it is more likely to increase. Does this mean then that as soon as you become an old age pensioner you will not last out the winter?

Winter 2010-2011

Throughout the period a total of 25,700 people died because of the cold weather, an estimated 85% of whom were over sixty-five. Apart from the weather extremes, the constantly rising price of energy and a low income are making many families, and in particular the old, choose between putting food on the table or keeping warm. This should not be happening in the 21st century!

Thank God For Someone Who Cares

We all trumpet the virtues of our ‘Caring Society’ and our Welfare State, but people are still dying needlessly of something as basic as cold! No other European country has such a winter mortality rate due to the inability to keep warm, even though it is often much colder than in the UK.

Part of the problem is also that very many old people live in houses built by the Victorians, which have little or no insulation measures installed. Britain has been very slow to act on this important issue, which will cost us dear in the years to come as more weather changes take effect.

Home Alone?

I am sure most of these poor old people have children, but such is the self-centred attitude of many these days, that they can’t be bothered to do anything to alleviate the suffering of the ones who brought them into the world so long ago.

Winter is Coming

It seems few these days feel any obligation to look after the old folks, except perhaps for volunteer organizations dedicated to the task and professional carers, in fact many see them as an embarrassment which is even more disgusting. So if you have elderly parents who are living on the poverty line, take some time out to visit them, invite them over for Christmas and at least make them feel that somebody cares.

Make sure they are warm and fed this winter and don’t become a statistic, even if the cost comes out of your own pocket, for it may well be your turn at some time in the future.

Roy.

Share this:

Like this:

Roy Peters

Welcome to News, Views and Nonsense.

Hi, and welcome!
I can hardly believe this blog is now more than five years old, for it seems like only yesterday when I took my first hesitant steps. A lot has happened in that time, and I must say it has been a great pleasure to write about, and discuss with visitors all the momentous happenings around the world.
Whether you are a frequent visitor, or someone who just dropped by, I hope you will come back, for you are always welcome.

Now that I am a 'Gentleman of Leisure' I have time to indulge in my hobby of writing short stories. I do it for my own pleasure and not for accolades. Although I recently had offers to publish some of them, I found the cost of publication far too much and unfortunately had to decline.
PLEASE NOTE: The stories have now been removed from my blog and published on Amazon for Kindle readers.
CURRENTLY AVAILABLE ARE ON KINDLE ARE: No Time For Mourning - A day in the life of Battle Of Britain Squadron.
Flight of the Rusty Bucket - A bomber crew take on a dangerous raid over Germany.
The Will To Survive - The desperate struggle for survival on a contaminated Earth in 2050.
Rescue Mission. A sequel to The Will To Survive. Our hero, along with two companions, undertakes a dangerous rescue mission.
Escape from the Taliban - An SAS team are captured and must escape a vicious Taliban leader.
The Sinking of the Rodney Star - The desperate days of WW2 Atlantic convoys.
Deadly Duel - The massacre of American troops in the Ardenne
Strike By Night - Commando raid just after D-Day 1944
Code-name Falcon - A WW2 French resistance story
Hell's Valley - The continuing battle against the Taliban in Afghanistan.
Lifeboat - The crew of a sunken WW2 convoy vessel fight to survive the merciless Atlantic ocean.
A Refugee's Story - The desperate journey of hope for a Somalian refugee.
Secret of the Golden Sphinx - Murder and intrigue in Ancient Egypt.
Alien City - Two young people stumble upon a secret alien city.
They cost only $0.99 or equivalent so feel free to browse on the Kindle Store webpage.
Roy.

We see all over the world fighting going on and it will not stop. When I was young the world was at peace, except for the Russians and they did not do anything except make threats. The world was a peace in the sixties, but today the world has moved on and war is everywhere. […]

The whole world is going crazy and it is the people that are to blame. When will we become sane in this world and look after each other. There are millions of people who are starving to death and the countries do nothing about it. In Africa there are thousands of people who are dying […]

Everywhere except Europe is in a mess! Once the world was a peaceful place, and today it is a controversy of war and demonstrations. There are battles going over the whole world and we must put a stop to it. In South America there are demonstrations in most countries and they are not giving up. […]

Why are so many people bent on killing other people? In England the situation is getting worse as more murders are carried out. Why? Years ago Britain lived in peace and there were hardly any murders, and those that were caught were hanged. We have to get back to this. Most of the murderers are […]

Wars are happening all through Africa, Syria and the Far East and it is mostly to do with terrorists. How are going to stop them? The United Nations should step in and end it all so that the world can return to peace. But they do nothing about it except discuss the terrorists. During the […]

All over the world the temperatures are getting hotter, and the there seems no end to it. In Europe the weather is climbing, and it will rise in August. When winter comes there will be cold and snow everywhere and the we will be up to our eyeballs in snow. The weather is changing and […]

This world is getting worse by the minute, and we see whole countries in turmoil. The people are protesting against the government for their rights. Such is the world today, country after country riot against the government, but they do not care about the people. They pass laws that have nothing to do with the people […]

Its getting hotter and hotter this year and it won’t end until winter comes, and who knows what the winter will bring. In the Middle East its well over forty degrees, and we can expect close to forty degrees in Europe this August. All over the world it is getting hotter and the weather is […]

What is happening with Brexit? We are groping towards a showdown with the European Union and we do not seem to be getting any closer. Theresa May should be putting a hard fist down on Brexit but she is not doing that. We have to call an E.U. Council meeting and discuss the plans for […]

The whole world is in turmoil at the moment, and it has been that for years. When is the world going to be at peace? It does not seem likely for the future unless we go to war in which the whole world will be destroyed. When the war is over then there will be […]

Why is there is there violence all over the world? In every country it’s crazy, for all countries have attacks on humans and there is no stopping it. The police do their best to stop the violence but they are not having enough clout. In most countries there is attacks against the police and innocent […]